The monthly floral celebration that is Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, hosted by Carol of May Dreams Gardens, has sneaked up on me yet again. With most of my available time absorbed in preparing the former lawn area in the front yard for planting, I've given very little attention to tidying up my garden, which makes picture-taking more difficult. In addition, almost one month into the fall season, I'd normally have refreshed my garden beds but there's been no time for much of that either.
I took a look at last year's October Bloom Day post and, while some of the same plants are blooming for me on schedule this year, others are no-shows. In some cases, as with my Coreopsis, Eustoma, and Osteospermum, my plants have already exhausted themselves (although I think the Eustoma is gearing up for a return visit). Other plants, like my Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty' and Argyrantemum, haven't made an appearance since spring, which I attribute to the reduced irrigation associated with our drought. Still others, like Centranthus ruber and Agapanthus appear disinclined to make the unseasonably early appearances they made last year.
With those disclaimers, here are the plants currently blooming in my garden, listed alphabetically by genus.
That's it for this month's bloom wrap-up from my little corner of coastal Southern California. Carol at May Dreams Gardens can connect you with other gardeners from all over the world with blooms to share.
All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I took a look at last year's October Bloom Day post and, while some of the same plants are blooming for me on schedule this year, others are no-shows. In some cases, as with my Coreopsis, Eustoma, and Osteospermum, my plants have already exhausted themselves (although I think the Eustoma is gearing up for a return visit). Other plants, like my Acanthus mollis 'Summer Beauty' and Argyrantemum, haven't made an appearance since spring, which I attribute to the reduced irrigation associated with our drought. Still others, like Centranthus ruber and Agapanthus appear disinclined to make the unseasonably early appearances they made last year.
With those disclaimers, here are the plants currently blooming in my garden, listed alphabetically by genus.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Ageratum houstonianium 'Blue Horizon' has perked up since the weather began to cool |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Anigozanthos 'Bush Gem Yellow' is still blooming |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| I recently discovered that this Bougainvillea, on the back side of the hedge I thought represented our property line, is officially on our property |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Camellia sasanqua has produced just a few tentative blooms thus far |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Cuphea ignea 'Starfire Pink' and Coleonema pulchellum 'Sunset Gold' have been in bloom most of the year |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Duranta erecta, in a pot, has responded to haphazard watering by blooming more this year |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Flowers produced by an Echeveria (no record of variety) |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Gazania 'New Day Yellow' blooming at the feet of Mexican feather grass |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| One of my most recent acquisitions, red and orange Gomphrena haageana |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Grevillea 'Superb,' seated in front of Nandina domestica, is suddenly producing abundant blooms |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Hebe 'Wiri Blush,' sitting in front of Phormium 'Dark Delight,' has produced a new flush of flowers |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| I'd planned to move this Hemerocallis 'Spanish Harlem' but it won't stop blooming - it's on it's 3rd cycle this year |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| An unidentified Hoya I've had forever is blooming again despite repeated aphid infestattions |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Lavandula multifida (aka fernleaf lavender) is hard to photograph but so are skipper butterflies |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Leptospermum scoparium 'Pink Pearl' dried up a bit in the last heatwave |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The flowers of Nandina domestica have been replaced by orange berries, which will gradually turn red (ignore the ugly air conditioning unit behind the shrub) |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' is doing its best to hide the bare dirt formerly covered by lawn behind it |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Pentas lanceolata 'Kaleidoscope Appleblossom' has also produced a new flush of bloom |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Plectranthus ciliatus 'Zulu Warrior' celebrates every October by bursting into bloom (although its foliage gets a little ratty) |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Prostrate rosemary, almost always in bloom, plays host to bees all day |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Rudbeckia 'Cherry Brandy' handled the recent heatwaves better than the rest of my Rubeckia, although the foliage on most of my plants doesn't look as good as this |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Salvia leucantha (aka Mexican bush sage) is another reliable October bloomer |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Salvia 'Mesa Azure' looks better in person than it does in this photo |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| If dead-headed every 2-4 weeks, Salvia 'Mystic Spires' keeps on blooming |
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| This dwarf Tagetes lemmonii (aka Copper Canyon Daisy) has lost its bushy shape and flopped over but I still love the sweet-smelling flowers |
That's it for this month's bloom wrap-up from my little corner of coastal Southern California. Carol at May Dreams Gardens can connect you with other gardeners from all over the world with blooms to share.
All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party